Boy May Be Fragile
by Archem
Summary: Despite a series of tumultuous events involving Nick, Jesus sees the good in him, and Nick realizes that his obsession with Mariana caused him to neglect a sincerely good friend. Maybe he fell in love with the wrong twin.
1. Rapport

"I have good news and bad news," announced Nick's lawyer as he approached a sitting Nick, who then stood, in anticipation of news that he expected to be, for better, worse, or both, shocking.

"I don't care about the order you give it in; just give me the news," Nick solicited frantically. His hands were clasped and beginning to develop films of sweat over his palms. His legs, clothed in the gray pants of the mental health facility's resident uniform, were shaking.

"The judge said you will still be eligible for release in a week, but she wants you to have a 'trial run' at home first, to make sure you're mentally fit to leave this place, after what happened during your last house arrest privilege."

"Great; so she wants me to go home. What's the bad news?"

"She has required that you have someone speak on your behalf after the home trial, in order to help her deliver a verdict."

"Fine. My dad can do it"

"It's not that easy. She knows that your father would lie for you, even if he didn't think you were stable. I'm just gonna tell you outright; she has required that your 'mentor' be Jesus Adams-Foster."

Nick suddenly felt sick. He gagged slightly, which caught the attention of his lawyer.

"Are you alright?"

It wasn't that he would mind hanging out with Jesus during his reattempt at house arrest. He still cared about Jesus, even if Jesus hated him, but the thought of having to face The Adams-Fosters after what he'd put them through made his stomach turn. He'd single-handedly "terrorized" the twins, is what he knew was the sentiment of Jesus' family, especially Stef and Lena.

Nick began to stutter. "W-w-why Jesus?" He asked, while trying to catch his breath.

"Essentially, the judge knows that he wouldn't lie for you after all you've 'put his sister through'. He'll give an honest report on how you do outside of this facility. Unfortunately, there's more bad news."

Nick looked distraught at the idea of any more difficulties.

"Should Jesus not agree to monitor you during your house arrest, you will be staying in this institution indefinitely, until an alternate method is concocted. The judge simply doesn't wanna run the risk of you having another episode and Jesus is the only person she trusts to report back to her."

"Another episode!? I thought Mariana was in trouble! That's the only reason I left the house! Even she told the cops on the scene I was defending myself when I punched her brother!" Nick defended.

"And, of course, the judge knows all this, but that doesn't change the fact that she simply doesn't trust you yet. Don't forget you broke into the Adams-Foster's home with a loaded weapon. That's a serious offense, Mr. Stratos."

"Yeah, I was there. I don't need the play-by-play. When is the judge or you or whoever gonna call Jesus and ask him?"

"Judge Maynard has required that you call Jesus...yourself, and ask him," Nick's lawyer informed with a denotation of pity in his voice.

"I'm so screwed." Nick placed his face in his hands.

"Would you like to call him right now? The sooner you get an answer, the sooner we can move this process along."

"I might as well. He's gonna rip me a new one anyway."

Nick's lawyer handed him his cell phone. "Do you remember the phone number?"

"Yeah." Nick started to reluctantly dial the numbers, his heart rate increasing with each button press.

After a couple of rings, Jesus answered. "Hello?"

Nick was quiet for the first couple of seconds. "H-h-hi, Jesus."

"Who is this?" 

"Um, this is Nick. I'm calling from my lawyer's cell phone"

"Do I need to tell Stef you're stalking Mariana again?"

"No! I'm not calling for her...I'm calling for you."

"Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious...look, man. I'm just gonna be a straight shooter with you. I need you to be, like, a sort of mentor for me because they're gonna put me on house arrest again and they want someone to tell them how I do outside of this place. If I do well, they'll release me next week."

Nick waited anxiously for a response from Jesus. He finally spoke after a few agonizing seconds. "Fine."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Don't make me change my mind."

"Wow, I cant believe you would do this for me. You're such a great friend-"

"I'm only agreeing to do it because you were looking out for Mariana that day. You violated your house arrest for her and...you didn't deserve to be sent back there."

Nick smiled in a way that he hadn't in a while. "Thanks, man."


	2. Reality

The doorbell rang. It was the first day of an important week for Nick Stratos. Today, he would begin his seven-day house arrest journey to prove his mental stability while simultaneously, possibly, repairing a friendship. He was nervous. He hadn't seen Jesus since he'd knocked him out cold. He exhaled, then opened the door.

"Hey, Jesus," he said with a smile.

"Hey, Nick," Jesus replied gloomily.

"Wanna go to my room, or maybe you want something to eat? We could also go to the den or get in the pool, or-"

"Your room is fine," Jesus interrupted his babbling.

Nick smiled again. "Okay."

Nick plopped down onto his bed and Jesus oddly sat excessively close to him. He thought it was really weird that Jesus would wanna sit next to him at all, but he was glad to be receiving any semblance of a friendly action. Jesus then pulled out his phone and started to do something on it. Not understanding why Jesus had chosen to sit thigh-to-thigh with him and feeling awkward, Nick witlessly wrapped his arms around Jesus and hugged him.

"Uh, dude. What are you doing?" Jesus questioned, looking a bit disturbed.

"Oh," Nick quickly let Jesus go, "I, uh, I guess I felt like I should hug you since you sat so close to me?" He stated as if he wasn't sure of the answer, embarrassed at the carelessness of his actions.

"I sat so close to you because we need to take a selfie." Jesus started to lift his phone and point the camera at the two of them, Nick's face looking comically confused.

"Okay, you are sending me seriously mixed signals right now, man." Nick stated frankly.

"It's for the judge's office. Your lawyer called me yesterday and told me that I'd need to email a selfie of us every day this week, so that the judge could have proof that I'm visiting you. They said it's a little unorthodox, but they trust me enough for that to satisfy them."

"Oh, okay. Cool"

Nick smiled into the camera. Jesus smiled almost undetectably, then snapped the photo.

"Done." He then emailed it to the judge's clerk with his phone.

"Cool. Now that business is out of the way, what do you say we have some fun?" Nick suggested.

"Okay. They asked me to spend at least an hour with you every day this week."

Nick felt a sadness come over him at the coldness of his "friend's" voice. It was like a job for Jesus. He knew that he should have expected this. He'd sent Jesus' sister through hell, then sent him to the hospital.

"I was really glad to hear you were okay after our little fight." Nick explained.

"'Little fight'? You almost scrambled my brain." Jesus said bitterly.

"I swear to God I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I didn't think I would knock you out," Nick said sorrily.

"Well, let's not say it like _that_. I only had to go to the hospital because of the nail. The nail knocked me out, not you" Jesus rebutted viciously, with no suggestion of humor in his tone.

"Nail? What nail? What do you mean?" Nick looked confused.

"Oh my God. They didn't tell you, did they? Nick I have a nail in my freaking head," Jesus said while pointing to the location of the nail and looking increasingly angry.

"I had no idea. I never would've hit you back if I'd known. I'm, I'm sorry, man," Nick said pitifully.

"Yeah, well, just be glad I got lucky. When I first got the nail stuck in my head from the nail gun, the doctors said my speech could have been affected. You obviously knocked it in farther, but, like I said, I got lucky, and, before you get any ideas, Mariana didn't tell the police you were defending yourself because she 'didn't want you to go to jail', or whatever you may be thinking. She told them that because it was the truth. Period." Jesus pulled out his phone and started to text.

Nick felt horrible. He had no idea he'd came so close to possibly permanently disabling Jesus. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you already said that," said Jesus as he continued to text. He lifted his head from his phone to find a teary-eyed Nick looking at the wall.

"Come on, man. Don't cry. I'm fine, okay? That's what's important here. I know you didn't mean to hurt me like that."

Nick continued looking at the wall. He couldn't even face Jesus at that moment. Jesus rolled his eyes and hugged Nick from behind as they were still sitting on the bed. "You're too beautiful to cry, man," Jesus immediately regretted saying. Nick turned around to face him. Jesus looked away from Nick's face, embarrassed.

Nick laughed a little, the tears clearing up from his eyes. "You think I'm 'beautiful', man?"

Jesus' cheeks tinted red a bit. "Come on, man. Look in a mirror." Jesus tried to offset complimenting Nick by being snarky.

Nick contemplated what to say, for a minute.

"Why don't you kiss me, then?" Nick suggested.

"What? Cut it out, man. I don't know why I think that about you. I just see how attractive you are even though I don't see it with other guys." Jesus was trying so hard to keep being mean to offset the fact that he'd admitted how he felt about Nick's looks.

All Nick could do was laugh and turn slightly red. The truth was that he felt like kissing Jesus was the least he could do after all he'd put him through. He'd never been perceptibly attracted to guys, but he could still see that Jesus was handsome, and the idea of kissing him didn't really bother him.

"Whatever you wanna do, I'm down, man" Nick admitted. Some part of his mind must have thought that he could somehow make up for the wrong he'd done by going there. All of the "beautiful" and "gorgeous" compliments from earlier were making him feel embarrassed, though. He'd never thought he was _that_ good-looking, but Jesus obviously did.


	3. Poolside

Nick's naturally tan skin glowed under the warm light of the sun as he sunbathed by his pool. Jesus couldn't help but stare at his toned back which looked radiant in the sunlight. Nick flipped over and put a towel over his face so that he could bake his abdomen. Jesus took advantage of Nick not being able to see him and leaned over in the lounge chair that he was sitting in to get a better look. This wasn't the first time that Jesus had seen Nick shirtless, but this was the first time that he'd taken the time to look. The kiss that Nick had offered Jesus the day before, which he did not accept, changed his perspective of his relationship with Nick. He'd always thought that Nick was pretty, but he'd never had any intention of trying to escalate their friendship beyond anything chummy.

Nick removed the towel from his face and looked over at Jesus, who was still staring, as he hadn't even realized that Nick could see him now.

"Um, hello?" Nick broke Jesus' trance.

"Oh, uh, I was just, uh, admiring how well you tan." Jesus gave Nick a thumbs up.

"Is that right?" Nick asked while chuckling.

Jesus rolled his eyes and laid back in his chair. "Why am I even tanning with you? I don't need to tan," Jesus complained. "I thought we were gonna get in the pool."

"We were, after we were done tanning," Nick laughed. "You agreed to tan with me. No one's stopping you from getting in the pool, man." Nick found Jesus' resentment humorous. "I think you only agreed to tan with me to get a look at the goods." Nick moved his hands up and down, displaying his body.

"Oh, please. Get over yourself."

"You know, you don't have to act like that. My kiss offer is still on the table."

"So, because I think you're 'beautiful', or whatever, that automatically means I wanna touch you? Every time I see a beautiful piece of art, I don't wanna jump its bones. The same applies to you."

"Ah, but the key difference here is that the art is objects, whilst I-" Nick pointed at himself, "am a person."

"What do you want from me, Nick? I never should've admitted that to you. Yes, I thought your face was glorious the day I met you, but that doesn't change the fact that I also thought you were a raging douche the day I met you, and that face," Jesus pointed at Nick, "doesn't change that fact."

"You like my body too, right? It's not just my face, is it?" Nick jeered.

"Like I said, a raging douche."

"Well, I like your body," Nick said, then walked over to an uneasy-looking Jesus and knelt down beside his reclined lounge chair, which made Jesus sit up. Nick touched one of Jesus' ab muscles. "So athletic."

Jesus didn't know what to say. Nick was looking at him as if he was waiting for a response. "Why are you doing this, Nick? You don't even like guys."

"Maybe I like just like _you_ , and, last I checked, you don't like guys either."

"If you like me, then why didn't you say something a long time ago?"

"Maybe I didn't realize I liked you." Nick smiled.

"Is this just so I'll give a good report to the judge?"

"What? Is that what you think?

"I don't see why else you would be doing this. Ever since I told you that I thought you were pretty, it's been nonstop with the sexual innuendo."

"Okay, look. The truth is, when you told me that, it made me feel good. I liked the idea of you seeing me that way. Your opinion has always meant a lot to me, man. I hated how you looked at me after the whole Mariana thing. I hated myself, too. All I know is that you're my friend and I like getting attention from you."

"Okay, but Nick, you can't keep touching me and doing stuff like that because it makes me feel things I can't control and I don't wanna go there with you."

Nick got up from beside Jesus' chair, then ran and jumped into the pool, splashing Jesus, which caught him by surprise.

"Dude!" Jesus exclaimed.

Nick ignored the fact that he'd just soaked Jesus. "I guess I'll go shower now. Can I at least have a hug, man?" Nick inquired, opening his arms as he floated in the pool.

"Fine, but get out of the freaking pool, so I can do it."

"Pool hug?

"Nick..."

"I don't think I'm asking for much." Nick rationalized.

Jesus rolled his eyes, then got into the pool with Nick, who was waiting at the shallow end so that they could stand while they hugged. Nick proceeded to wrap his arms around Jesus' neck.

"No. That's not how guys hug, and you know it."

"It's because you're taller than me!" Nick defended while laughing at Jesus' acknowledgment of his mischievous intentions.

"You're doing this on purpose."

"Just put your arms around my waist. It's almost over, man."

Jesus did as Nick wanted, then Nick asked him to pull him in tighter which made their bodies touch even more.

"I thought you said it was almost over."

"It is." Nick was trying to contain his laughter.

"Dude, our dicks are touching. Come on."

"It isn't like we don't have trunks on and, to be clear, yours is touching mine. I'm not the one getting excited from a hug." Nick deduced.

"Congratulations on accomplishing your goal of giving me a raging semi, which I know you did on purpose, because I can clearly feel how you made sure your crotch was subtly pressed against mine."

"I'm so not doing that, dude."

"Nick."

"Okay, fine. I'll see you tomorrow."


	4. Reparations

"I need to remain objective," Jesus said with a straight face.

"What?" Nick looked befuddled.

"That's what the judge's clerk said, when he called me. I 'need to remain objective'. He said it was just an 'FYI', from the judge."

"What do you mean? Like, professional or something?"

"Yep. I need to remain objective and professional. Those are the rules."

"Seriously? You're really gonna do that?"

"I just wanna try it and see if I can. Challenge accepted."

"Okay. Good luck with that. I'm not gonna make it easy for you," Nick admitted.

Jesus kept a straight face.

"I see you've started," Nick acknowledged.

"So, Nick...I mean, 'Mr. Stratos', how do you _feel_ , today?" Jesus asked in character.

"I'm feeling...excitable. Kinda hyper today. I'm feeling like you're looking cute. Your hair looks nice, and you smell good."

Jesus started to blush, but stayed in Character. "Mr. Stratos, tell me how you spend your time."

"Well, first I shower, brush my teeth, and all that stuff. Then, I wait for my friend Jesus to show up. After that, he kinda leads the way."

"Mr. Stratos, do you really think it's healthy to rely so heavily on the presence of your friend...Jesus, is it? He sounds like a handsome young man."

"Yeah, he's really hot, but I can't even hug him without him freaking out."

"Do you think that maybe this 'Jesus' fellow doesn't like you back?"

"Oh, he totally has the hots for me."

"And how can you be so sure, Mr. Stratos?"

"Well, between me and you, I gave him a hug in the pool yesterday and he totally got a boner."

Jesus blushed again. "Do you think that perhaps the erection could have been involuntary, due to excessive body contact?"

"Well, I didn't get one, and I was feeling the same contact that he was, so I'm not so sure about that."

"Nick Stratos, it's beginning to sound like you intentionally made contact with Mr. Adams-Foster's penis, is that correct?"

Nick pretended to look around, then put his mouth by Jesus' ear to whisper. "I just wanted to see if I could feel the size of it."

Jesus cleared his throat and felt a nervous sweat coming. He was beginning to find it difficult to stay in character. "Were you successful?"

"Yep. Dude's totally packing."

Jesus no longer had the courage to continue whatever weird game they were playing. "Okay, that's enough role-playing for one day." He looked away from Nick and exhaled.

"Why?" Nick laughed. "I was having fun."

"That's sure as hell different from the kind of fun we used to have."

"Like what? Speeding in my car? Pretty sure this is safer anyway."

"Man, we used to have fun, didn't we?" Jesus reminisced.

"Yeah, we did." Nick seemed to be picturing the things they used to do together. "I was a bad influence on you."

"Nah, man. You were fun...'til you started dating Mariana. Then it seemed like she was all you cared about. I guess that's what people do."

"I never wanted to be that friend that ditched his buds for a girl. I was stupid for doing that, but I didn't even realize that I was doing it, which really just makes it even more sad."

Jesus just looked away and didn't say anything, which made Nick feel like he needed to do something drastic.

"Hey, since I can't leave the house anyway, why don't you keep my car for now?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous, dude."

"No, I'm serious. I mean, why not, right? It isn't like you haven't driven it before, and it's not serving me any purpose right now."

"No way. My moms would never go for that, and I'm not sure I'd wanna be responsible for someone else's car anyway."

"Well, I'd give it to you, but my dad would probably kill me, and-"

"Whoa, whoa. You'd _give_ me your car? That's too much; I'd never take it anyway."

Nick blushed. "Oh...sorry. Guess I was just feeling bad for being such a shitty friend all that time."

"There's always the future, right?" Jesus smiled.


	5. Ascension

Jesus' phone started to vibrate.

"Hey, man," Jesus answered.

"Don't 'hey, man' me. You know what you did."

"All I did was tell the truth," Jesus said, smiling.

"I really wanna see you," Nick said in a tone that Jesus' hadn't heard him use before. It had a sort of romantic undertone to it that made him feel a little flustered.

"I-I'm not doing anything anyway, I guess. Just homework, but that can wait."

"I'm outside. I parked at the end of the block so your family wouldn't see me. I'll be waiting."

Nick hung up.

"Hey," Jesus said with a smile as he entered Nick's car.

Nick was looking into Jesus' eyes without a word.

"Your eyes are beautiful," Jesus said without thinking, as he'd never truly noticed how gorgeous Nick's eyes were.

Nick slowly moved forward. Jesus knew he was about to be kissed. His heart sped up a bit. Then, Nick's pink lips softly pressed against his. They were even softer than he'd expected. Jesus parted his lips and closed his eyes. He started to get invested in the kiss, which Nick hadn't expected. Jesus tried to slip his tongue into the kiss and Nick pulled away.

"Wow. I did _not_ expect that reaction. All last week you fought my advances and now you're trying to French me?" Nick expressed.

Jesus' cheeks turned slightly red. "Yeah, well, you started it."

"Well, guess what? After what you did for me, you can French me all you want," Nick said candidly. "I'm a free man, thanks to you."

"Like I said, all I did was tell the truth."

"They're even thinking of letting me go back to Anchor Beach, since I never actually tried to shoot anyone." Nick imperceptibly shuttered at the memory.

"Yeah, but are you sure you wanna do that? Your name has kind of a bad reputation around there now," Jesus said honestly.

"I don't even care. I just wanna get back to normal. Maybe seeing me at school is what everyone needs to realize that I'm better than I was before."

"Well, whatever you wanna do, I support you, man."

"I know you do. You always do." Nick started to gaze into Jesus' eyes again. "My lawyer told me you even testified that we're becoming better friends than before...is that true?"

"I mean, yeah. Don't you think?"

"Definitely."

Nick grabbed the back of Jesus' neck with his hand and pulled him into another kiss. Nick took the liberty of initiating the tongue activity that Jesus had attempted the first time, which Jesus immediately reciprocated. Eventually, Jesus put his hands on Nick's waist as they kissed, leaning over from the passenger seat. Nick breathed heavily into the kiss, surprised by Jesus assertiveness. Nick pulled away from the kiss again.

"This is heavy," Nick admitted, laughing a bit.

"Do you wanna go to the beach?" Jesus asked unexpectedly.

"Sure, man. Do you wanna go get your boardshorts?"

"Nah. Let's just go. We both have shorts on; that's good enough," said Jesus suspiciously.

"Alrighty then."

Nick fired up his car.

"I guess you don't plan on getting in the water, then," Nick concluded as they walked onto the sand from the parking lot."

Jesus tackled Nick and threw him onto his shoulder, then started to carry him toward the ocean. Nick's face was red from being handled so roughly and laughing frantically at being hoisted off the ground.

"Ah, jeez. What are you doing?" Nick's stomach being pressed against Jesus' shoulder made it difficult for him to laugh.

"I'm gonna take you and throw you in the ocean," Jesus explained as he walked along the sand with Nick in tow. "Because, clearly, you're some sort of...weird, amphibious deep-sea creature that got up here on land somehow."

Nick laughed ferociously. "Why is that what I am!?"

"I finally figured out why you're so gorgeous. It's because you don't belong here, and you're taunting us mere mortals with your supernatural beauty."

Jesus struggled to pull Nick's shoes off, then tossed them aside and threw him into the ocean. Nick splashed into the water fully clothed.

"I'm glad I didn't wear socks." Nick japed as he rolled onto his back in the sand and sprawled out his limbs while breathing heavily. "Well, I might as well go swimming now that I'm all wet."

Nick started to undo his belt buckle.

"You're gonna go skinny dipping in the middle of the day?"

"Almost."

Nick dropped his shorts and removed his shirt. Jesus couldn't help but stare at how his tight boxer briefs clung to his wet body and showed the shape of his buttocks.

"Come on," Nick directed.

He grabbed the top of Jesus' shorts and started to unbutton and unzip them while Jesus took off his shirt. The now shirtless Jesus looked down, enjoying being undressed by Nick. After he got Jesus' shorts off, Nick ran off toward the water with him not far behind. Jesus was wearing black boxer briefs similar to the multicolored ones that Nick had on. When he made it to the water, Jesus was immediately tackled by a rambunctious Nick, who ended up on top of him. The cooling water ran over their parallel bodies as they looked at each other. Jesus placed his hands on the small of Nick's back.

"You're not worried about anyone seeing?" Nick inquired.

Jesus moved his hands down to just the top of Nick's buttocks, then moved them back up in a rubbing motion.

"I think I wanna fuck you." Jesus admitted bluntly.

"I-I-" Nick tried to find the words.

"Wait, I said that wrong." Jesus squeezed his eyes shut, mentally kicking himself. "I meant ' _could_ I fuck you?' Like, I'm not trying to fuck you right now. I'm just asking if you would ever want me to fuck you. Oh, god. I keep saying 'fuck you'. I'm sorry; this is all coming out wrong and really creepy." Jesus put his hand on his own forehead. "Just forget I said anything, please," he pleaded.

"Do you wanna...fuck me?" Nick asked, realizing immediately that it was a rather rhetorical inquiry.

"Yes," Jesus said honestly, recognizing that the answer would become obvious to Nick momentarily anyhow, as his lower appendage was quickly increasing in size due to the nature of the conversation and the fact that Nick was still on top of him, their abdomens and pelvic regions laying against one another.

"Whoa," Nick expressed as he felt something pressing against his stomach. He lifted off of Jesus a bit to look down at Jesus' now stretched underwear. "I swear I didn't do it on purpose this time," Nick jeered.

"It's because we were talking about...you know, and...can you please go get my shorts?" Jesus was extremely embarrassed.

Nick smiled. "Sure."

After they'd both put their not-quite-dry clothes back on and were sitting on a bench just off the sand, Jesus broke the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry...for asking that. It was in the heat of the moment. You were on top of me, and wet, with almost no clothes on, and I was grabbing your lower back, and things were just getting very heated for me," Jesus explained without looking up.

"Hey, look at me." Nick chuckled.

Jesus slowly brought his head up with a mortified expression and looked at Nick. "I wouldn't wanna do anything to jeopardize out friendship," Jesus explained. "The only time I say stuff like that is in the moment."

"Well, if you ever wanna...you know, I'm down," Nick retorted surprisingly.

"Really? Just like that?" Jesus tried not to express his excitement, but the idea of making love to Nick was playing gloriously in his head.

"Yeah. I think it would be hot."

Jesus couldn't believe how little the idea seemed to affect Nick. He was acting as if Jesus having sex with him would be no big deal.

"I haven't had sex in a while anyway and this would be something new. I know you would do your best to make it feel really good for me, because that's the kind of person you are," said Nick.

The conversation was starting to make Jesus uncomfortable. Nick's bluntness was an attribute that Jesus did not possess. Jesus sighed as he recalled his earlier concern.

"But, like I said, Nick, I wouldn't wanna go and do anything that could mess up our friendship after we just got it back. You have _no_ idea how DTF I am, but I think I should keep my fantasies to myself."

"Hey, whatever you say, man. I'm fine with it either way. Just let me know if you change your mind, so I can make sure my dad isn't home."

"Nick, I've gotta ask: how can you be so chill about this?"

"Hey, it's just a little hot, sweaty teenaged boy-on-boy banging, right?"


	6. Discernment

A speck of red blew through the scenery as Nick's Dodge Challenger sped down a desolate California highway.

"Wow, you're really putting the pedal to the metal," Nick commented.

"Well, I've never had a car of my own, so, when I get to drive one, I take advantage."

Jesus pressed the accelerator down even further.

"Where are we going, anyway? This highway looks pretty dead."

"I told you you'll see when we get there," Jesus reminded.

Nick shrugged. The scenery out of the windows was beautiful. They were putting themselves a good distance from San Diego. Neither of them was sure exactly where they were. Jesus just knew where he was going. The area that they were driving through had cliffs and tall grass, and beaches with abundances of rock formations.

"There it is."

Jesus pulled into the small lot of a quaint ice cream shop with no other businesses near it.

"An ice cream shop? We drove forty-five minutes for ice cream? Dude, I don't even like ice cream."

"Who doesn't like ice cream? My moms used to bring Brandon, Mariana, and me here on special occasions. We always looked forward to the drive and the ice cream. I just felt like this would be a nice place to bring someone I really care about."

Nick displayed a warmhearted smile. "I still don't like ice cream," he reiterated before getting out of the car.

"Two cups of vanilla, please," Jesus ordered.

"You have to walk up to a window to order? You can't even go inside this place? What is this, a food truck without wheels?" Nick complained jestingly.

"It's an old place, man." Jesus explained before grabbing the ice cream cups he was being handed by the server. "Thank you."

They went and sat at one of the picnic benches on the lot. They were the only people there, at that moment. Nick looked at his ice cream grotesquely, which Jesus noticed not long after.

"It's just ice cream. How can you think it's so gross?"

"Look at how it melts and turns into a liquid. It's just nasty, man."

Jesus stuck his finger in his own ice cream and wiped it on Nick's lips. Nick sat there with a stunned expression, which made Jesus laugh.

"Dude," Nick expressed.

Jesus leaned forward, looked at Nick, then licked the ice cream off of Nick's lips. Nick smiled salaciously.

"See. Delicious," said Jesus. He then dipped his finger into Nick's ice cream and put a bit on his own lips. "Are you gonna get this off of me or what?"

Nick craned forward and placed his lips teasingly close to Jesus' without making them touch. His eyes oscillated between Jesus' eyes and lips before he slowly licked the ice cream from Jesus' lips.

"Holy shit," Jesus reacted.

Nick smiled proudly. "You know, Mariana and I never did stuff like that. It was hard enough for me to even get her to go out with me."

"Why did you want her so bad anyway?" Jesus continued eating his ice cream while Nick's sat there melting.

"Dude, have you seen your sister? She's literally the hottest girl I've ever seen."

"Hey, that's still my sister."

"Sorry. I'm just saying. I would've done anything to get her, but she never really liked me back. I knew that, but I was just happy to have her."

"So, you wore her down, basically?"

"Yeah, basically. A relationship shouldn't be built like that. You were always a great friend, though. You liked me just as much as I liked you, and it made for a great friendship."

"Yeah, totally," Jesus responded lazily.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course I am," Jesus ensured unconvincingly.

"You know, you're not a great listener."

"Sorry. ADHD." Jesus pointed at his own head.

"I sort of...feel like I chose the wrong twin, you know?" Nick admitted bashfully, looking down at and stirring his mostly melted and untouched ice cream.

Although Jesus was only half listening to him, that statement caught Jesus' attention. "Really?"

"Well, yeah." Nick was trying to gauge Jesus' reaction.

"Do you, I don't know, think you and me would've...worked out better?" Jesus asked hesitantly.

"I can't say for sure, but who knows?" Nick looked around, trying to avoid eye contact with Jesus.

Jesus smiled. He rarely saw Nick act that way. Timid and sensitive.


	7. Divulgence

"Nick, drive," Jesus prompted.

"I can't. I feel like my legs are paralyzed," responded Nick.

"That's just the fear, but I told you, I'll protect you from them. Come on. We're only a block away. Why did you wait till we got so close to start freaking out?"

"It was hard enough for me to build up the courage to agree to go in the first place and, now that we're almost there, reality is setting in." Nick stared out of the windshield as they sat on the side of the road.

"I won't let anything happen to you. I won't let them yell at you, verbally abuse you, or anything like that. Okay?" Jesus tried to reassure him.

Nick nodded doubtfully.

"Now, drive," Jesus cued softly.

Nick slowly pulled away from the curb and started driving toward The Adams-Foster's house. Jesus looked at Nick's face as he drove, seeing a look that suggested he was fighting to keep his internalized panic from manifesting itself as a visible emotion.

"See. Now we're here. That wasn't so bad, right?" Jesus consoled.

Nick nodded side-to-side while still looking forward and breaking out in a cold sweat. A concerned-looking Jesus got out of the car and walked around to open Nick's door, as Nick's entire body now appeared to be paralyzed in fear.

"Come on." Jesus grabbed Nick's arm and slowly lifted him out of the driver's seat.

Nick looked toward the windows of the house, imagining the things that were being said about him inside if anyone in the house had spotted his car yet. Jesus grabbed Nick's hand, which snapped Nick out of his trance.

Nick smiled timidly. "What are you doing?"

"I told you I would protect you from them."

"But what if they think we're dating 'cause you're holding my hand?"

"I don't care."

Nick looked up at Jesus and ran his fingers through Jesus' hair. "You're so protective of me," Nick remarked.

Jesus loved the feeling of Nick touching his hair, but tried to stay focused. "Come on," Jesus reiterated as he gently pulled Nick toward the front door of the house. "Are you okay?" Jesus checked before taking out his house keys.

Nick took a deep breath. "Yes."

Jesus opened the door and no one appeared to be home.

"Thank God," Nick conveyed. "Let's go to your room, quick." Nick started to walk up the stairs with Jesus behind him.

"Where's Jude?" Nick asked as they entered Jesus' and Jude's bedroom.

"I think his boyfriend's house. He's always gone somewhere."

"Oh, okay." Nick sat on Jesus' bed and looked around the room. "Still pretty much looks the same as the last time I was in here. Feels like forever ago."

Jesus ignored Nick as he was too busy straitening up his room.

"It's kinda crazy how our whole dynamic has changed," Nick commented.

Jesus stopped cleaning momentarily. "What do you mean?" He asked with a concerned tone.

"It's nothing bad. I'm just saying. Before, you didn't care what your room looked like when I came over."

Jesus looked at the dirty laundry he was holding. He hadn't even realized that he'd started cleaning. "Pff. Oh my God. You're right."

"Like I said, it's not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of flattered."

A slight rosiness developed on Jesus' cheeks, then he continued transferring multiple items of dirty laundry from his floor to his hamper.

"Just, out of curiosity, what _are_ you gonna do if someone comes home and sees me?"

"Oh, I'm not gonna do anything, because you're my friend and I want you here."

"What if your moms don't want me here?"

"Then I'll tell them to go to hell."

"Wow. Stern. Do you have any condoms?" Nick asked abruptly.

"Uh, yeah. Why? You need some?" Jesus opened his drawer.

"Maybe I wanna get frisky while no one is home," Nick joked. "Kidding."

"Ha. Yeah, well, I'd wanna fuck you raw, anyway."

"Whoa. Really?"

"Uh, yeah. I would wanna feel myself inside of someone as perfect as you."

Jesus had no problem being candid because he thought that he had no chance of sleeping with Nick after he'd foolishly turned down Nick's offer the first time.

"Hmm. Raw? I don't know about that."

"Oh my God, are you seriously thinking about letting me...you know? I never thought I'd get another chance."

Jesus sat on the bed next to Nick and rubbed the inside of Nick's clothed thighs. He waited to see how Nick would react. Nick didn't object, which gave Jesus the confidence to slip his hand into the bottom of Nick's shorts and rub his bare thigh.

"You're always touching me."

"Can you blame me? You're a freaking angel."

"More like a demon," chimed Mariana as she stood in the doorway.

Jesus jumped up from the bed. "Mariana! How long have you been standing there?"

"Well, first, I saw you two pull up and how Nick played with your hair. Adorable. I hid when you guys came in, then listened to your conversation through the door, so, if you're wondering how much I've heard, that would be everything. Look, Jesus, if you're bi or whatever, that's fine, but Nick? Really? Of all the guys in San Diego? He broke into our house, with a gun, and almost permanently screwed up your brain."

"Yeah, thanks to you. All thanks to you. He almost killed himself because _you_ played him, and he punched me in the head because _you_ got doped up on my medication and started hallucinating."

Mariana stormed off to her room and slammed the door.

"I should go." Nick started to get up from the bed.

Jesus grabbed his arm. "No, stay. Please."

"She's probably gonna tell your moms now. What if Stef tries to arrest me or something?"

"For what? I invited you here. You're my guest, and, if they don't like it, they can say it to my face. I'll be right back."

Jesus walked out of his room and toward Mariana's.

"Mariana, I'm sorry. What I said was wrong. Can we please talk?" Jesus pleaded through her door.

When he didn't receive a response, Jesus opened her door.

"Are you sick in the head or something? How could you have him over here after everything he's done to our family?" Mariana broke her silence.

"That's just it. What has he _really_ done? He was never gonna kill you; he was gonna kill himself, and he didn't even _know_ I had a nail in my head when he punched me. Yes, he has emotional issues, but he's better now. They let him out."

"Well, they're clearly as big of idiots as you are, then."

"All I'm asking is for you to give him one more chance. Please. He was my friend before everything that happened."

Mariana had a slightly compassionate expression on her face. "So, are you really, like, bi, or something?"

"I don't know. I'm just as confused as you are about this. I think I've always liked Nick as more than a friend, deep down, but just never really realized it."

"Well, whatever. Just keep him away from me. Just because he's your boyfriend or whatever now doesn't mean I have to be friends with him, and good luck convincing Moms that he's 'all better'."

"He's not my boyfriend, and where are Moms?"

"They'll be home any minute. They went to the store." Mariana got up from her bed and put her hand on the door. "Good luck." She closed the door in Jesus' face.

Jesus looked defeated. Getting Mariana's approval was one thing, but getting it from his moms was an entirely different challenge. He walked back into his room, where Nick was still sitting on the bed.

"I'd ask how it went, but it was pretty loud."

"I'm sorry you had to hear that. Her wounds are just still a little fresh."

"I understand. Sounds like your moms are the ones I should be worried about anyway."

"Don't worry. It'll be fine."

When Jesus heard someone opening the front door, he valiantly told Nick to stay where he was and headed down the stairs to preemptively confront his mothers.

"Hi, Jesus," Lena greeted.

"Hello, Love," said Stef.

"Hi, Moms."

"Why so serious?" Stef inquired.

"I need to tell you guys something, and, if I don't do it now, I may never be able to."

Stef and Lena both looked at him with concerned expressions.

"Go ahead," Lena encouraged.

"I, um...I have...a friend, upstairs."

"Okay. Is this a lady friend?"

"Um, no. It's, it's a guy."

"Okay. Not seeing the big news here, babe," said Stef.

"It's Nick," Jesus blurted.

"Why is Nick here? Where's Mariana?" Stef asked anxiously as Lena stood there looking shocked.

"Just calm down. I invited him."

"Why would you that, and isn't he supposed to be under surveillance in a mental health facility?"

"They let him out, for good behavior, and all those hours I was gone last week, the friend I was visiting was Nick."

"So you lied to us?" Stef deduced.

"I never actually lied. You just never asked who I was talking about when I told you I was going over a friend's house all those days."

"Jesus, why, after all he did to Mariana and all he _could_ have done to you, would you be okay with having Nick Stratos in this house?" Stef asked critically.

"Because I've been hanging out with him and he's changed, Moms. He really has. Please, just give him a chance."

"Fine, but if he so much as looks at Mariana in a way that makes her uncomfortable, I will throw his ass out so fast your head will spin. By the way, did you discuss this with Mariana? I doubt she'll be as understanding as we're being."

"Actually yes, and she said it's okay."

"Okay. That's fine. Keep him in line," Stef said sternly before she and Lena walked off toward the kitchen where they'd sat their grocery bags.

A small smile appeared on Jesus' face and he rushed back up the stairs to his room.

"They're okay with it, with us, with us hanging out."

"Really? Do they wanna talk to me?"

"They didn't say anything about it. Let's just avoid that until you have to cross paths with them."

"I can't believe you'd stand up to your family for me."

"Believe it. You're worth it."

Nick pulled Jesus down onto the bed and placed a peck of a kiss upon his lips. "You can bang me now, if you want."

"Really?" Jesus asked in disbelief.

Nick nodded, then Jesus quickly got up and locked his door.

"We've gotta be quiet, though," Jesus advised.


	8. Resurgence

"Are you nervous?" Jesus asked as he put on his backpack.

"Obviously, but, honestly, I'm more happy than nervous. I'm just glad to be getting back to school," Nick assured.

Nick had driven to Jesus' house and brought him to his own house an hour before school started so that he'd have someone to talk to before his first day back.

"That's good. I won't let anyone say anything dumb anyway," Jesus reminded.

Nick smiled in appreciation. "Well, I guess we should head out now," Nick said after looking at his wristwatch.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go," Jesus prompted.

When they got to the parking lot of the school, an onslaught of reality seemed to hit Nick.

"You okay? You look a little nervous compared to earlier," Jesus noticed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just mentally preparing myself, I guess."

As they exited Nick's car and started to walk toward the school's entrance, Jesus took glances at Nick to make sure that he wasn't too uneasy. It was obvious that Nick was nervous, but Jesus could also see his determination. A few people appeared to look at Nick then proceed to gossip with the person or people they were walking with, but nothing too dramatic occurred during their walk from the parking lot into the school. Jesus smiled as he noticed a bit of Nick's nervousness dissipate.

Eventually, Nick and Jesus separated as they walked off toward their respective classes. Jesus gave Nick a reassuring look before turning the corner.

Jesus' homeroom class was with Mat. Apparently, word about Nick's return to school had spread astoundingly quick.

"Hey," Mat tried to whisper to Jesus, who was sitting in the adjacent desk. Jesus didn't appear to hear him, so he tried again, while the teacher's voice droned in the background as he lectured. "Psst," Mat verbalized in a cliché manner. "Jesus."

Jesus seemed to finally hear him. "Oh, hey, man. My bad. What's up?"

"Did you hear?" Mat asked vaguely.

"Hear what?"

"Well, don't get angry, but I've been hearing from a couple people that Nick may be back in school today."

"Oh, yeah, he is. We're cool now."

"You're cool? Really? How'd that happen?" Mat continued to whisper while taking glances at the teacher to make sure that he wasn't caught not paying attention to the lesson.

"Long story short, I helped 'rehabilitate' him, basically, and he was released."

"Wow. I can't believe you did that after he put you in the hospital."

"He didn't mean to, man. All that matters is we're cool now, okay?"

"Okay, I guess, but how does Mariana feel about all this?"

"I don't know, Mat. Why don't you ask her? She's your girlfriend or whatever, right?" Jesus responded defensively.

"Whoa. Jeez, man. My bad. Didn't know you were sensitive about the subject."

"I'm not. It's just that you're basically the reason Nick went off the deep end in the first place, and you're acting like you had nothing to do with it."

"Wow." Mat shook his head in disbelief, then went back to paying attention to the teacher.

Jesus felt bad, because he didn't want to be so harsh with Mat. He always had a good relationship with Mat. How could you not? The dude was as cool as a cucumber, as far as having a chill personality went. Something about hearing Mat criticize Nick made him lash out a bit, though.

Jesus was sure to catch up with Mat after class.

"Hey, Mat," Jesus yelled as he jogged toward Mat.

"What?" Mat answered abrasively.

"Look, I'm sorry, man. It's just that me and Nick have grown pretty close since I started hanging out with him again. It started as a way for me to help him get released from that freaking crazy house, then it just turned into something more."

"What do you mean by 'something more'?" Mat asked inquisitively.

Jesus lowered his voice. "We, uh...we had sex last week, okay?"

"What!?" Mat reacted louder than he intended. "Sorry. I mean...wow, I don't know what to say right now. I guess I'll start with: I didn't even know you liked guys."

"I don't know what that's about, honestly, but I think I like Nick. I'm actually glad I have someone to talk to about this, because I'm not comfortable talking to anyone in my family about it and I'm kind of freaking out."

"Freaking out? Why? I mean, yeah, he's a guy, but sexuality is more fluid than people think."

"Not really because he's a guy, but because...Mat, I may be catching serious feelings for this dude."

"Aww. You _like_ Nick," Mat said teasingly as he poked Jesus in the chest.

"Shut up. I didn't say that. I said I _may_ be kinda sorta _starting_ to maybe catch feelings for him."

"Honestly, I don't see the big issue here."

"The 'big issue', Mat, is that I don't wanna mess up our friendship. We just became friends again."

"Dude, I hate to burst your bubble, but, when you _like_ someone, those feelings don't just go away. You have to face them head-on."

"Since when did you become Doctor Phil?"

"I am the love god, but I do have a question: how was the sex?"

"I'm going now. Goodbye, Mat."

Jesus started to walk away.

"Right, right. We'll talk about it later." Mat yelled with a grin as Jesus walked farther away from him.

Jesus could feel his face turning red from embarrassment. Just then, he saw Nick walk around the corner.

"Hey. How'd first period go?" Jesus asked Nick, trying to act casual.

"Pretty good, actually. It's amazing the lengths people go to pretend like everything is normal. It's actually really obvious that everyone has a million questions and opinions about what happened after the lockdown, but no one has the balls to say anything," Nick scoffed.

"Well, that's good," Jesus responded blankly.

"What's wrong with you? You're looking at me weird, like, right into my eyes, and you're kind of blushing, too."

Nick examined Jesus' face with a squint. Jesus quickly looked away. He hadn't realized that he was staring at Nick.

"Sorry. I just, uh, I'm kind of tired."

"Oh, okay," Nick accepted the explanation with a smile.

Much to Nick's surprise, Jesus grabbed Nick's hand and massaged the top of it with his thumb, right there in the hallway.

"Wow, I can't believe you're doing that right here."

"What do I have to hide? It's not like we're dating, right?" Jesus tested.

"We're not, but people sure are gonna think so now."

Jesus looked around the hallway to see that most of the students' eyes were now on them.


	9. Unmitigated

Nick's sandy blonde hair was being tussled a little by the cooling ocean breeze as he and Jesus sat on the sand and looked toward the now setting sun. Jesus was sitting behind him and running his fingers through Nick's hair while the back of Nick's head rested against his chest. Jesus was content just being with Nick, regardless of what they were doing.

"Jesus?" Nick spoke.

"Yeah?" Jesus answered as he continued to play with Nick's hair.

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"What? Why wouldn't I be nice to you?"

"Well, I'm not gonna bring up everything that happened in the past, because I know you say you're over that, but why are you _so_ nice to me?"

"I don't know what you mean. Am I nicer to you than the average friend?"

"It's not necessarily what you do that's so nice; it's _how_ you do the things you do to me."

"I'm so confused by what you're saying," Jesus admitted.

"Well, like, how you're playing with my hair right now, I can feel how gentle you're being, making sure you don't pull a tangle and softly massaging my scalp every now and then. I almost fell asleep a minute ago."

Jesus' face started to involuntarily turn red. He knew that everything Nick was saying was true.

"I don't know, Nick. You make me feel...I don't even know. It's like every day up until I met you was just a regular day, and every day after I met you had a purpose. Even with everything we went through together, I still felt...different before we met."

"How come you never told me?" Nick inquired.

"Even though I'm sure I subconsciously knew I felt different, I couldn't understand why back then."

"You know, you make me feel different too."

"In what way?"

"You make me feel like I matter. I was never depressed or anything, or maybe I was, considering my past actions, but never really felt like I mattered. I knew my dad loved me, but, well, you know my dad, and he doesn't show it, and it wasn't just my dad. I just never really felt like anyone cared about me in the way that I thought at least one person would, but you, and the way you've been treating me since we reconnected, really makes me feel...significant, and I've never felt that way before."

"Good, because that's exactly the way I want you to feel."

"I just don't get it. I really don't deserve it. I don't deserve all the affection you give me. Sometimes, after we've been hanging out and I go home, I lay in my bed and cry, because I've never been treated this way by anyone and that's the only way I can process it, because I know that the only time I'll feel that way is when we're together and I'll probably never feel it again if you stop hanging out with me."

Jesus turned Nick around so that Nick was sitting on his lap and facing him. Jesus grabbed both sides of Nick's head and lifted it up so that their eyes met. He could see the tears that had formed in Nick's eyes. The sounds of the waves crashing in the background acted as foreshadowing.

"I love you. I love you, okay, and I will never stop wanted to be near you. I love you so fucking much that just being next to you is enough for me to have a good day. You're beautiful, and perfect, and _amazing_ , and I love you so _goddamn_ much."

"I don't know if Mariana ever truly loved me or not, but, if she did, look where that got her," Nick uttered while looking down, his head still in Jesus' hands.

"I don't give a fuck. Whatever you think is 'wrong' with you or whatever is such an insignificant thing when compared to how much you mean to me."

The tears finally fell from Nick's eyes and he looked up at Jesus again.

"I'm so fucked up. You love me and I'm so fucked. You made me fall in love with you and I know you deserve better. I'm such a shitty person for letting you even start to love me."

"I've never loved anyone more than I love you and I think you're the most perfect person I've ever met."


	10. Indivisible

Jesus was staring into the bathroom mirror. He was fully dressed for school, but he wasn't fully prepared to encounter Nick there. They both had confessed their love for each other on the beach the day before. In all honesty, it shouldn't have made that much of a difference, because how much they were in love with each other was frankly obvious to the both of them before they had actually said the words. Something about professing your love for someone out loud made it more "real" somehow, though. Now that they'd said it, there was no taking it back, but Jesus didn't wanna take it back anyhow. He wasn't sure how Nick felt, though. Yes, Nick had told Jesus that he loved him, but he'd also said that he didn't want Jesus to be burdened with loving someone so potentially volatile. Jesus didn't care, though, just as he'd told Nick. He didn't give a _fuck_. He really didn't. All he knew was that he was completely and wholly in love with Nick.

Mariana popped her head into the bathroom.

"Jesus. Quit daydreaming. Did you forget Brandon's giving us a ride to school? He's waiting outside. Come on."

Mariana hurried down the stairs. Jesus took one last look into the mirror, fixed his hair a bit, took a deep breath, then headed down the stairs as well. There was an awkward silence after Jesus got into the car. Brandon glanced into the rear-view mirror. Even though Jesus was significantly taller than her, Mariana insisted on sitting in the front. Jesus didn't have the time or energy to fight her on it, so he'd silently obliged. He had much bigger issues on his plate, at the moment.

"So..." Brandon broke the silence.

Jesus rolled his eyes slightly, aware of the likelihood that what Brandon was about to say would have something to do with Nick, as, even though Brandon wasn't home the day that Jesus brought Nick over, he was sure that the family has thoroughly filled him in.

"You've been hanging out with Nick again, huh?" Brandon continued.

"Yeah," Jesus answered laconically.

"Cool, cool. Is it true that you guys are, like, more than friends?"

Jesus balefully glanced at Mariana, who was guiltily looking at him in the rear-view mirror, as he was sure that she was the one who had filled Brandon in on the romantic aspect of his relationship with Nick.

"No. Actually, we're just friends."

Jesus wasn't lying. Technically, he was just friends with Nick. If the question had been whether or not he had feelings for Nick, the true response would have been fairly different.

"Well, that's interesting, because Mariana told me that-"

"Brandon!" Mariana exclaimed to cut him off while he was talking, then punched him in the arm.

"Oh, come on, guys. We're all siblings in this car, and I think we're pretty obviously a new-age type of family, so we should be able to talk about these things without being weird about it," Brandon protested.

The only siblings that weren't in the car with them were Jude and Callie. They had found their own way to school since they couldn't both fit in Brandon's car with the others.

"Fine. You wanna talk about it? Let's talk about it. I fucked Nick, okay? Is that what you wanna hear?"

Jesus was trying to make Brandon uncomfortable so that the conversation would be cut short.

"Oh, uh...wow. Uh, Mariana didn't tell me that part. Uh, congratulations? I don't really know what to say right now."

"Yeah, that's exactly why I don't like to talk to you guys about it, and Mariana didn't tell you about that part because she didn't know about it."

"Well, you've gotta admit, it's a little strange. I mean, not only is it _Nick_ , your sister's ex-boyfriend and ex-tormenter, but it's also Nick the _guy_...not that there's anything wrong with that," Brandon clarified.

"Great. I'm _so_ glad I have your blessing," Jesus said sarcastically.

"Come on, man. Put the claws away. I'm just trying to be supportive here."

"Yeah, well, you suck at it."

"Well, if you ever wanna talk about it, I'm here, and I'll just leave it at that."

Brandon threw his hands up submissively.

When Jesus got into the school, he tried to steady his breathing as he stood at his open locker. He could see Nick's locker from his own, and knew that Nick should be there momentarily. They hadn't spoken to each other since the previous day, when they'd mutually admitted their love for each other.

"Hey, gorgeous," Jesus said as he leaned against the locker next to Nick's and awkwardly tried to act cool as Nick grabbed books from his locker and placed them into his backpack. It was a weird feeling because he hadn't ever felt awkward around Nick before.

"Hey," Nick responded and smiled, also feeling a bit awkward, with cheeks that were becoming slightly hot.

Jesus suddenly couldn't contain his laughter.

"Nick, this is ridiculous. What are we doing? All the time we've spent together and we're exchanging awkward hellos? We need to talk about what happened yesterday."

"What's there to talk about, really? You love me and I love you right back, but I care about you too much to be in a relationship with you. I don't trust myself enough to be in one right now...maybe ever. I'm broken, Jesus, as history shows."

Jesus grabbed Nick's hand.

"Ready to go to class?"

"What are you doing?" Nick asked worriedly.

"Come on. There are already tons of rumors about us from the last time I grabbed your hand in the hallway. Might as well give them something to talk about. Come on or you're gonna be late."

"You're gonna be late too if you walk me all the way to my class," Nick informed.

Jesus shrugged. "Eh, I don't care."

Nick's eyes awkwardly shifted between the floor and other students as he walked through the halls with his hand in Jesus'. To demonstrate his confidence, Jesus had a bounce in his walk and a smile on his face.

"'Sup," Jesus said to a random male student as he walked by.

Jesus chuckled.

"Nick, come on. Calm down. No one cares. I mean, they care, but not in a bad way. They just didn't know this lady's man was also a man's man, and I've got the hottest guy in school, so I'm proud of it. Alright, here's your class."

Jesus' silliness made Nick smile, then Nick grabbed Jesus' face and pulled him into a sweet peck on the lips.

"I freaking love you, goofball," Nick said.

Jesus was smiling widely now.

"I love you too, silly, and that's why I'm gonna fight for you. I wanna be with you, so please, be my boyfriend."

Nick couldn't help but smile.

"I'm yours," said Nick.

"No, _I'm your_ _s_ , and, just so you know, I do plan on marrying you in a few years."

 **The End**


End file.
